The present invention concerns generally an attachment for an exterior vehicle mirror of the type mounted on the vehicle door or adjacent thereto.
Current side view mirrors for some makes of automobiles are generally rectangular with an elongate, streamlined housing. Such mirrors normally provide adequate viewing rearwardly of one side of the vehicle, but do not provide an adequate range of vision when towing a trailer. Accordingly, the side view mirror must be adjusted in a compromised manner resulting in a blind spot either adjacent the side of the trailer or in an adjacent traffic lane used by passing vehicles. Certain types of auxiliary mirrors have been proposed for side view mirrors but are not suitable for attachment to current side view mirrors. One proposed reason is that known auxiliary mirrors require modification of the original equipment mirror which vehicle owners are reluctant to do. Secondly, some auxiliary side view mirrors utilize a number of tubular components which are cumbersome and detract from the vehicles appearance.
The introduction of streamlined mirror housings has resulted in complicating the addition of an auxiliary mirror since such housings lack flat surfaces to which an auxiliary mirror may be secured. While such housings could be permanently modified for a side view mirror, such is unacceptable since such modifications would be unsightly when the towing operation is finished and the auxiliary mirror removed.